Curiosity killed the cat
by JoMiSm
Summary: ...or the Tony. A week after the Avengers move into Stark Tower, Tony looks into Natasha's past.
1. Chapter 1

_**Plot bunny popped into my head and savagely attacked my brain until I wrote it down. Not a one shot. **_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own this. **_

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It had been a week, officially, with the Avengers living in the Stark Tower. Clint got on well with Tony because they had similar mischievous spirits. Tony and Bruce were science bros. Steve and Thor were similarly confused about all modern technology, so they often tried to figure it out by themselves.

Natasha... Natasha was not clueless about technology. Natasha wasn't into complex science. Natasha wasn't a prankster... unless revenge was required. The only person Natasha liked was Clint, and he was often with Tony.

Natasha despised Tony.

Constant nicknames. Constant teasing. Constant questions. The pesky billionaire annoyed Natasha, and so she ended up sitting alone most of the time.

Tony was the opposite of Natasha. She was cold and sharp, he was warm and friendly. He was questioning and she already knew every detail of your past-no need for questions. Natasha was quiet and secretive, but Tony was loud, proud, and his past was broadcast all over movies. They were polar opposites.

Tony was naturally curious. When Natasha went out of her way to be secretive, that only increased his curiosity. Tony could hack his way into SHIELD files without an issue, but he had to wait for the right opportunity. The first day that the Avengers moved in, he was busy helping them move in. Day two, Pepper caught him. Day three, he was breaking the laws of physics with Brucie-fun! That continued all the way up to day seven, when he finally got some time to himself. He hacked her file.

His eyes widened as he read her severely limited file.

**Name: Natalia 'Natasha' Alianova 'Romanoff' Romanova.**

Tony shook his head at just that. Was there anything real about her? Her name was the only thing he was sure about, and that wasn't even true.

**Gender: Female**

**Eye color: Green**

**Hair color: Red**

Well. That much was true. He'd thought she wasn't a redhead-from-a-bottle, but he could never be sure, knowing her.

**Background information:**

Tony paused. Here we go, spill the juicy deets! His eyes narrowed at the small paragraph.

**Trained by the Soviet Union's Red Room. Agent refused to give more details. Defected under Agent Clinton Barton's authority in 2000. From limited intel gathered before 2000, Agent Romanoff's known kill count before defection is 714.**

**All that is known about Romanoff, Natasha A.**

Tony, stunned, backed away, horrified, from the computer. She killed over seven hundred people?! How is that all that is known about her past? What is the Red Room?!

The last question, at least, he could try to answer. "Jarvis, search all of SHIELD's files for any mention of the Red Room." Tony commanded with a slightly shaky voice.

"Yes, sir." A screen was pulled up with three names. **Agent Kowalski, Agent James, **and **Agent Godwin**. All said the same when their profiles were pulled up.

**KIA by member of Red Room program.**

Tony slammed his hand on the off button, running his hand through his hair. "Is that all that's known?" Tony asked.

"Yes, sir." Jarvis said.

Tony sighed. "Looks like I'll have to ask The Black Widow herself." he said, jogging out of the lab.

"Sir, I do not advise-" Jarvis began in the hallway.

"Shut up and tell me where she is." Tony said, pressing the elevator. Jarvis reluctantly told him, and he set off on his way.

It was only when he was in the same room as her that he was nervous.

She was in the kitchen, sipping some coffee, with her back to him.

"Hey, Natashalie." Tony said, trying and failing to sound lighthearted.

"What do you want, Stark?" Natasha said suspiciously, turning to look at him. She still sipped her drink, though, so she wasn't really alarmed.

"...or should I say, Natalia." Tony finished, bracing himself.

Natasha did not explode as expected. At least, not visibly. Her grip tightened on the coffee cup, her voice strained. "How do you know that?" she asked, her voice simmering with quiet anger.

Tony stepped away quickly. Okay, avoid the question and rip the bandaid off. "What is the Red Room?" Tony asked quickly.

"You read my file!" Natasha growled, her eyes widening.

"Irrelevant." Tony said. "What is the Red Room?"

"I knew you were sneaky, but I didn't think you'd go that low." Natasha hissed, her grip on the mug tightening further.

"Why won't you answer? Does it have something to do with 714 people?" Tony asked. He knew it was a little mean, but she just insulted him.

Natasha's coffee mug shattering interrupted the argument. Tony jumped back instinctively, surprised by the red mingling with the coffee until he noticed Natasha's bleeding, clenched fist.

Natasha looked down, surprised at the sharp shards of her earthenware mug embedded in her hand. She didn't even feel the cuts. Taking a deep breath, she ignored Tony and walked over to the sink, turning on the faucet.

"Natasha, are you okay-?" Tony asked, trying to check on her hand. She tried to block his view, but he saw. The angry cuts on her palm were already fading, healing before his eyes. "What-?! What just happened?!" Tony asked, alarmed.

"Enhancers." Natasha muttered, drying her hand. "Speeds up healing, helps me strategize..." she said, sitting and resting her head in her hand miserably.

"Do they increase pain tolerance?" Tony asked. He noticed her lack of reaction to her injured hand. (Thought he wouldn't notice. But he did.) He knew he should've just shut his face, but he was curious. We've already been over this.

"No. Not one iota." Natasha muttered darkly.

"Then how-?"

"Experience. Training. Specifically, Red Room training. Enough information for you, Tony?" Natasha said, throwing the dish towel to the side and stalking out the door.

Tony stared after her, dumbfounded. How much pain did you have to go through before you couldn't even feel several deep, ragged gashes slicing your palm?

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_**There shall be more! Review with any suggestions or constructive criticism!**_

_** -JoMiSm **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Holy guacamole, everyone loves it. I LOVE YOU ALL! SOB! This is quickly becoming popular and every review, follow, or fave is just a ray of sunshine in my cloudy day-geez, I am a writer, aren't I? **_

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"Natasha." Clint pleaded. "It'll be easier if you just tell him." His strong arms grabbed her waist as she tried to walk away. Natasha's eyes flashed.

"Let go of me!" Natasha growled, kicking him in the shin. He winced, but held on, pulling her to his chest. "Let! Go!" she pounded on Clint's chest, but she wasn't really trying. If she was really trying, she'd be gone.

"Natasha!" Clint said gently. He could wait her out.

Natasha sighed, resting her head against his chest. "I don't want to tell him." Natasha said, her voice trembling with unshed tears.

"Okay, you don't have to. But he'll find out either way, and it'll sound better coming from you." Clint murmured into her red hair. She froze-he was right.

There was a pause filled only by Natasha's hitched breathing.

Natasha sighed. "Okay. I'll do it." she said, sounding miserable.

"Good." Clint said, releasing his iron grasp. Natasha immediately stepped on his foot and kneed him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Unfortunately, it's hard to double over in pain and stand on one foot, especially when Natasha shoves you REALLY HARD afterward. He toppled over. Natasha bolted.

"Natasha!" Clint called after her, breathless.

"Sorry." She called over her shoulder, sounding genuinely regretful. But she just couldn't tell Tony...!

Her past... Is the worst of all of the Avengers. If she told Tony, he'd never think of her as any more than a monster. If he even thought of her as anything more than that now... He'd seen her kill count. Her KNOWN kill count.

There were at least twelve other little girl's names to add to that list, but I'll leave it to Natasha to tell you that story.

Natasha was still running from Clint's direction, full speed, which is pretty darned fast, when she came across Tony. She stopped before hitting him instinctively, lucky for Tony. Said billionaire looked up.

Natasha read his expression. Fear, shock, worry. A second later, worry was the only thing he let show. "Are you okay?"

Natasha didn't feel very good about herself at the moment, having immobilized temporarily the only person in this tower that she liked. Apparently, this showed on her face. "I'm fine." Natasha said, her poker face immediately on.

Natasha's fiery curls whipped around her as she turned to look back the way she came. She heard the distant thundering of Clint's footsteps, but Tony couldn't hear anything yet. Natasha cursed under her breath. "Tell him I went that way." Natasha said, pointing in the direction she'd been going.

"Who?" Tony asked. He still could not hear Clint.

"Clint." Natasha replied, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. Before he could question her further, Natasha ran at a wall, kicking off of it and grabbing into a possible entrance to the air duct.

"What are you-?" His question was answered when she promptly crawled inside the dusty duct, getting out of sight but within earshot.

Now Tony could definitely hear Clint's footsteps, and they were close. He barely had enough time to look away from Natasha's nifty hiding spot before a miffed archer was upon him.

"Where is she?" Clint asked quickly. Tony pointed in the direction Natasha told him to without thinking. Clint, he would not kill Tony for not cooperating. For all Tony knew, Natasha would. Clint ran off in said direction, not doubting Tony's word.

Natasha dropped down, landing without a sound. "Thank you." Natasha said, surprising Tony.

Tony's curiosity flared up. "Why were you running from Legolas?" Tony asked before he could think about it.

Natasha's demeanor went chilly, and Tony got a little nervous. "He wanted me to tell you about my past." Natasha said stiffly.

Tony froze. "I'm, ah, sorry, Natasha." Tony said sheepishly. He had gone to Pepper for advice on how to get anything about her past out of Natasha, and had been ranted at for half an hour. He really did feel sorry.

Natasha looked him in the eyes and saw that he wasn't lying. Natasha nodded. "It takes a big man to apologize." she acknowledged.

"Thanks." Tony said, awkwardly looking down.

"One question, Stark." Natasha said suddenly.

Tony looked up. "Wait, wha-?"

"Ten seconds."

"Are you seriou-" Tony started again.

"Nine." Natasha said, counting down in her head.

"Oh, okay, um," Tony had a million questions running through his mind, but the prominent one was: "What's the Red Room?"

Natasha's cold, calm exterior didn't change at all, but inside, she winced at even the mention of the place. "Long or short explanation?" Natasha asked. Something told Tony that the short explanation was the better choice because it would tick off Natasha less, but WE HAVE ESTABLISHED that Tony is curious.

"Both." Tony said. Natasha sighed. Fair is fair.

"Short version: They're the people who trained me, and they aren't the good guys. Long version..." Natasha's breath almost imperceptibly hitched. "Fifteen years of torture, forced murders and toying with my mind. They gave me enhancers, trained me, and if I disobeyed, punished me."

Tony started to ask what the punishment was, but as soon as he opened his mouth, her calm facade slipped for a moment and she death glared him for all her title as 'Black Widow' was worth. He quaked in his shoes and shut up.

"You don't want to _know_, Stark." Natasha said darkly. In a flash, she was back to eerily calm.

"There, one question, answered." Natasha said. Tony sensed that he should leave, and he did, his head swarming with even more questions.

"You can come out now." Natasha said.

Clint sheepishly stepped out from his hiding spot behind the corner. "You told him!" He said, astonished and happy.

"I gave him one question." Natasha said, crossing her arms.

"It's a start!" Clint declared, twirling her around by her waist even as she maintained her stiff form.

He was the only one who could do that.

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**Is anyone else afraid the Avengers fandom is dying out? I am. I'm afraid. SOMEONE TELL ME IM CRAZY BEFORE I PANIC. **

**-JoMiSm**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Whewf, thanks guys! XD**_

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Things continued well for about another week, Tony curious but keeping his mouth shut, and Natasha going back to her ninja-like approach to life. Everything was fine.

Until Clint got assigned a solo mission.

Everyone knew it was to make sure Loki was completely gone from his head, but there wasn't anything anyone could do. (Believe me, Natasha tried.) So, away Clint went.

And he left Natasha behind.

Natasha could deal with the sympathetic looks from the rest of the team. Natasha could deal with the polite chatter that the team only included her in because she was alone the rest of the day. Natasha could deal with the worry that her partner wouldn't come home-or, she could push it aside.

But she couldn't deal with the dreams.

A past come back to haunt her during the only time she should be peacefully oblivious to the sins of another life.

The screams of twelve childhood friends whose lives were ended at her hands.

Echoes of deeds done by a brainwashed child, scared and alone, cold to the cries of mercy from her targets.

Or, the worst of all, waking up to the constant fear that the one good person in her life will have disappeared in the night.

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Natasha started from her dream, instantly pointing a gun with a trembling hand. Unnoticed tears streamed, unchecked, down her cheeks as she realized Clint was not there.

No.

_No._

He'd finally realized how much of a monster she was. He'd finally come to his senses and left her.

A sob escaped Natasha as she dropped the gun. Still halfway in her dream state of mind, she stumbled out of the room and into the white halls, her vision blurred by tears.

If she wasn't falling apart, it might have occurred to her that he was on a mission.

The walls of Stark Tower or the walls of the Red Room, Natasha couldn't tell, but when she crashed into Tony, she instinctively fell into a defensive position.

Tony was extremely startled to see Natasha, _Natasha!_, crying and pointing a gun at his forehead. "Natasha! Natasha! It's me, it's okay..." Tony said soothingly, lifting his hands innocently.

Natasha put her gun down, her hands trembling. She took a step back.

"Natasha... What's wrong?" Tony asked tentatively.

Natasha's mind was clouded by fear, worry, desperation, and the ever-present paranoia that something from her past really _was_ going to come back and ruin her life. All that Tony was thinking...was that Natasha needed a hug. And so, hug her he did.

Natasha instantly stiffened at the contact, but she was still FREAKING OUT, sure that Clint had left her. At that thought, she nearly collapsed, and Tony heard Natasha sob again. "Natasha, _tell me what's wrong!_" Tony said, extremely worried now.

"He's... He's gone..." Natasha whispered, pure heartbreak in her words. Tony was momentarily confused, then he realized...

"Who, Clint?" Tony asked. Natasha met his gaze with such _intense_ loathing aimed at herself that he literally flinched. "Natasha, he's on a missio-" He paused when Natasha slid down the wall slowly, hitting the floor and pulling her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees.

Tony was terrified when her gaze went vacant and she looked right through him.

"Natasha."

Half a minute went by.

"_Natasha." _

Tony waited for another thirty seconds, sitting beside her.

"_Natasha!" _

The only response he got from her was a single tear rolling down her cheek, her gaze still unfocused on the wall.

Two and a half minutes of putting his genius skills to work and bypassing security codes, Tony got a call through. Clint Barton's phone rang.

"What the-" (*cough cough certain word*) "-do you want, Stark! You're lucky I'm not in a compromising situation!" Clint angrily asked.

"Clint. I think your girlfriend's broken." Tony said, looking back at Natasha. Still the same...

"What are you-Natasha?! WHAT HAPPENED TO NATASHA?" Tony held the phone away from his ear with a wince.

"I don't know, I think she had a nightmare, but now she thinks you left forever and is staring into space." If Tony wasn't mistaken, that was a facepalm from Clint's end.

"Give her the phone." Clint said.

"She won't respond to me-" Tony started.

"Then put it to her ear." Clint said fake-patiently. Natasha was drowning in memories from the past and probably contemplating suicide-now would be the time to act fast. Tony pressed the phone to her ear. She didn't even blink.

"Natasha." Clint's voice wasn't gentle, it was firm. Natasha jumped and looked beside her; she had tuned out Tony and had no idea the phone was there until it nearly fell off of her shoulder.

"Clint?" Natasha's voice was thick with tears, and Clint winced. The stupid [bleeping] council and their stupid [bleep] decisions, taking him away from his partner like this! Natasha grasped the phone like a life line.

Tony left five minutes later, giving them their privacy, and the clock read four. Natasha and Clint talked the sun up together, though for Clint, he talked the sun down on the opposite side of the world. When Tony walked down the hallway later that morning, she was smiling and still using his thankfully unlimited minutes.

Tony, behind the fuzzy feeling inside from his good deed, wondered what could break such a strong woman beyond the help of anyone but her partner.

Ah, questions for later.

Corrections: Questions for later TODAY.

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**Lead-up chapter. I can't just let tony ask questions out of the blue!**

**SPECIAL MESSAGE TO ELEKAT: I AM WORKING ON THE STORY YOU TOLD ME TO UPDATE, I SWEAR. **


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sparrowlilies won the contest to see what story was updated next. Good job, this one's for you. THE FIRST PERSON TO REVIEW WITH THE CODE WORD: HAWK, WILL GET TO CHOOSE WHICH STORY I UPDATE NEXT. **_

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Not very long later, Natasha walked into the kitchen full of other Avengers. They knew nothing of the chaos last night, or rather, early this morning, had included. Very casually, drawing virtually no attention to herself, Natasha gave Tony his phone back. No words passed between them, no lingering looks or anything cheesy like that-Natasha simply gave him the phone back.

But Tony knew she was thankful. And Tony planned to use her personal code of conduct against her.

Natasha, pretty much before anyone noticed she was there and tried to strike up a conversation, left the kitchen again. She heard Tony's 'sneaky' footsteps, and she turned a corner.

When Tony tiptoed around the same corner, she had vanished.

Tony swore under his breath, turning to go back to the kitchen and bumping into the Russian spy who had somehow gotten_ behind_ him. Tony jumped back with a startled "Gah!"

"Why are you trying to be sneaky?" And failing, I might add.

"I-um, I..." Tony stuttered, still recovering from the _heart attack_ induced by the woman in front of him.

Natasha crossed her arms impatiently. Clint was the patient sniper, ready to wait hours on a roof-Natasha was the 'shoot it if it doesn't shoot me first-and I'd like to see it try.' type.

"Well, I, um, had a question..." Tony started. Natasha interrupted with a sigh.

"Again with the questions..." Natasha said, annoyed.

"Yes, Nattie, I have a question, but I think I have the right to ask this one." Tony protested, getting some of his arrogance back.

Surprisingly, Natasha said, "Go ahead." with a nod of her fiery curls.

Seriously?

Just like that?

"Okay, um, why were you crying last night?" This morning. Whatever.

Natasha started to protest, but stopped herself. She had been crying, but she'd had a perfectly legit reason... That the billionaire did not need to know.

"Nightmare." Natasha said, spinning on her heel to leave. That was his question, answered, technically.

"Wait-! What was the nightmare?" Tony said, jogging after her retreating figure and stepping in front of her. Annoying.

"You've already asked a question." Natasha said, giving Tony a leveling glare.

"I-wait, what? That doesn't count, I already knew that!" Tony protested. Evil ginger and her evil manipulation of his words-she knew what he meant!

"Should've been more specific." Natasha replied, brushing past him and walking away.

"I WILL FIND OUT!" Tony vowed after her.

Pfft. Fat chance.

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Natasha glanced around. No sign of Tony. Good. She opened the cabinets where her favorite guns were kept, instead finding herself face-to-face withe the very billionaire she was avoiding.

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease tell me pleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeease?" Tony begged, giving her pitiful puppy eyes.

"Really? Begging? Tony, I've endured torture that would make your time in a cave look like a Sunday picnic. Do you really think-"

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasep lease-?"

"Suit yourself." Natasha grabbed a gun from behind Tony, shutting the cabinet door in his still pleading face.

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She went to the kitchen for a snack.

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease Natasha please tell me please-!"

She went to the gym to pass the time until Clint went back.

"PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEP LEASEPLEASE!"

She went to the girlfriend of the idiot following her around, asking her to make him stop. Pepper couldn't shut him up, and the torture continued.

"PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE! "

Natasha narrowed her eyes and grabbed a granola bar.

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! "

Natasha trained around him.

"PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE! "

Natasha sighed at her fellow redhead and walked away.

"Pleasepleaseplease-"

"Anthony Edward Stark, if you say please one more time-" Natasha warningly growled.

Tony raised a challenging eyebrow. "Please."

In the next instant, he found a gun pointed at his forehead, dangerous intention in Natasha's eyes.

"Okay, okay!" Tony said, raising his arms. "But why won't you tell me, Natasha?" His expression was really pleading this time.

Natasha exhaled slowly. "You don't want to know, Stark. You really do not want to know." She didn't put a threat behind the message. She didn't use an underlying tone. She didn't glare or growl or sigh. She said it to him as though commenting on the color of his shirt.

"Yes. Yes I really do." Tony said, for once in his life being serious.

Natasha slowly put the gun back into its holster. "You aren't going to look at me the same way. And I swear to God, if you treat me like fragile china, I'll stick a knife in your head."

Tony nodded, ready to accept the consequences.

Natasha closed her eyes, and Tony could tell she was trying to make this sound as not-horrible as possible. When she opened them again, she looked eerily calm. A mask.

"I grew up in the Red Room. That's where I spent my childhood, if you can even call it that. The only people who I knew that would not tortu-" Natasha corrected herself mid-word. "-_punish_ me for one wrong move were the others being trained in the program. I won't call them friends. Comrades, maybe. " Natasha paused for a moment, taking a deep breath.

Tony looked a little scared at her foreboding tone.

"I'm not fooling anyone; they were all like sisters to me." Natasha's voice was steady, but her hands were shaking. "And my trainers, they told us from the start...'you will have to kill one of them. It is for the greater good. But in doing so, you insure the safety of the rest of your comrades.' Tony, I always knew I'd have to kill one of my sisters. " Tony looked horrified, but she continued. "But they lied."

Just as Tony looked relieved, thinking all of them lived, she continued with the crushing truth.

"One by one, they brought my sisters into a room with me. They were all told beforehand that I had chosen this fate for them, that I chose them specifically to die..." Natasha's breath hitched. "And I killed them all, one by one, without a word. I wasn't allowed to speak, or I'd be punished."

Natasha's words were faster now, wavering with tears. "And I killed them. I killed my sisters. One of them was _nine, Tony, nine. _And she _smiled_ at me, she said 'Я прощаю тебя, Талия.' and I had to kill her. I had to kill them all. All of them. All twelve of them. " A tear slid down her cheek, and she didn't even notice as she stared at the tile.

But she looked up at Tony, and he saw how haunted she was. "And I was twelve years old, Tony."

Tony blinked away tears of his own as he stared in horror at the woman in front of him. How could they do that to anyone, much less a twelve year old little girl?

As Tony looked at Natasha, she visibly made an effort to look calm, and succeeded. The calm look was back, hands stilled, tears gone. She looked just like she had before the story.

"Natasha-" started Tony, his tone apologetic.

"I told you you didn't want to know." Natasha said in a cold monotone, turning away and walking slowly down the hall.

Tony was shocked at how easily she managed to look normal.

Because... How could anyone know when she was dying inside like Tony just witnessed?

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	5. Chapter 5

_**For Sparrowlilies! Okay, the contest WILL be ending soon, but there is a poll on my profile... :). ATTENTION! THE FIRST PERSON TO REVIEW WITH THE PHRASE: JoMiSm is a dork, WILL GET TO DECIDE WHICH STORY IS UPDATED NEXT! Don't worry, guys, I know I'm a dork. :P**_

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The answer is: You don't. Unless, of course, you are the lovely redhead's partner. Clint arrived back later that day, almost a day and a half early, and immediately spun Natasha in a circle, hugging her. Though she glared and acted aggravated, she was secretly extremely happy inside that Clint was back. The only people who knew that were Clint, of course, and Tony... and that last one was accidental.

To celebrate the archer's return, Tony called a team game night. Extreme fun, or extreme danger, depending upon which Avenger you messed with.

Tony began the night with Sorry!, the game of sweet revenge. Sounds promising. Steve and Thor elected to sit out and observe; Steve didn't get the whole 'Revenge is okay!' concept, and Thor simply couldn't play with such... tiny... pawns... *throws board across the room in frustration.*

After re-assembling the board, it was Clint, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce who ended up playing, with Steve and Thor peeking over shoulders and choosing people to root for. Clint and Natasha, it was assumed, would be partnered, and Bruce and Tony would be the other team. Science Bro's vs. Amazingly amazing super ninja spy assassins! Sounds epic! Too bad the game of sweet revenge is a game best played with no alliances.

Both Natasha and Clint took each other's pawn at the first chance, and Tony did the same to Brucie. However, Bruce never stabbed anyone in the back-he remained docile until the very end. It all came down to Bruce... Natasha was seven squares away from home, the same for Tony, and Clint was nine. Bruce, however, only needed a one to win... and they were all holding their breath. Bruce smiled his quiet smile when he saw the card.

A Sorry! card.

"Well." Bruce said, showing the card to everyone at the table. A collective gasp was cued from the two boys, while Natasha continued to look calm and slightly bored. "Who should I send back to start...?"

"Please don't send me back to start, oh dear Science Bro!" Tony pleaded, clasping his hands together dramatically.

"He's the one who sent you back to start...twenty-seven times!" Clint yelped defensively when Bruce's amused gaze landed on him.

Bruce looked at Natasha last. "...what? Am I supposed to beg for mercy?" Natasha scoffed, looking between the men.

"Yes!" Tony instantly quipped. "That's how you play American board games!"

Natasha was silent for a moment before giving Bruce a sarcastic pleading look. "Oh, please, Dr. Banner, don't send my pathetic plastic pawn back to start! Whatever shall I do?" Natasha dryly said, giving Tony a look.

Bruce thought for a moment. "...Tony, I choose you!" Dr. Banner said, Pokemon style, bringing Tony's game piece back to start.

"NOOOOOO!" Tony cried to the heavens, shaking his fists.

In the end, Clint got lucky and won. On to the next game, the main focus of this chapter.

"TRUTH OR DARE TIMEEEEE!" Tony declared, plopping down on the couch.

"WOO!" Clint was excited for the game. Bruce somewhat reluctantly sat on the couch, not enjoying this particular game, and Steve sat beside him. Thor didn't know how to play, but the word 'dare' thrown in there sounded promising, so he eagerly sat beside 'the man of iron.' Natasha rolled her eyes at the immaturity shown and sat beside Steve.

"Okay, ladies first! Nattie, pick someone!" Tony bounced in his seat, ready for the game to begin.

Natasha sighed, looking at the super soldier next to her. "Truth or Dare?"

Steve hesitated. "Dare...?" He hesitantly replied. What's the worst that could happen?

Natasha blinked innocently. "Do you like cinnamon, Steve?" Tony stifled his laughter, seeing where this was heading.

"I guess...?" He had a feeling they were pulling one over on him, but he couldn't figure out how.

Three minutes later, Steve found himself looking at a spoonful of cinnamon in his hand. Unsure, he looked back up at the others. This was seriously the best they could come up with? He actually liked cinnamon! When Tony gave him a thumbs up, he carefully _tried _to swallow the spoonful of cinnamon.

Except it doesn't work that way.

A cloud of cinnamon assaulted his airways, and the cinnamon just refused to go down when Steve tried to swallow. He sat there, coughing, and realizing what had been done to him, but he was mostly focused on _not dying. _Pepper, who'd only just entered a few minutes ago, mercifully gave him a glass of water. He drank it, losing the dare, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

When he finally stopped drinking, he looked back at Natasha. A silent pause, filled with possibilities, occurred. He could be mad at her, or he could take it as a joke.

"You know what? I don't like cinnamon anymore." Steve said with an amused smile. He could take a joke.

Natasha smiled a small, but genuine, smile, and turned to Tony. "Um, that was pretty good, Cap. I think it's your turn next." Tony said.

Steve ended up asking Bruce what his favorite color was, (to many boos at his question with such lack of gossip included.), and Bruce replied, surprisingly, blue. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that that is the color of a certain Ross's eyes...(and I'm not talking about the general!) Bruce dared Thor to google 'Thorki,' and Thor nearly died of embarrassment while protesting profusely. Thor dared Clint, or 'Friend Barton,' to a Pop-Tart eating contest, and Thor won. Of course. Tony bragged that he would take any dare, and so Clint dared Tony to give him a sports car. Clint now owns a Ferrari. It then came down to Natasha being the last one to be dared.

"Nattie, truth or dare?" Tony asked.

Natasha didn't even hesitate. To save her pride, she replied "Truth."

"Awwww, you're no fun!" Tony protested. When Natasha didn't change her mind, he continued. "Okay. But, to make sure you're telling the truth, Everdeen has to verify that you're telling the truth."

Natasha nodded, and Clint did also, though looking slightly miffed at the nickname. He shot waaay better than Katniss!

"Okay, Nattie," Natasha looked irritated at his nickname. Without thinking of how horrible the outcome could be, Tony went to his standard truth-or-dare question. "What's your deepest, darkest secret?"

_Natasha's_ mind instantly flashed through many different horrible memories, but she kept her face blank.

"Tony!" Clint protested for her.

"Um, yeah, Tony, one does not simply ask an assassin their deepest, darkest secret." Bruce chimed in.

"Well, too late now, I already said it!" Tony said defensively, looking back at Natasha.

Everything in her was screaming _Just tell a lie! Clint will back you up! Come on! Lie! _But she already had too many lies to deal with. Her life was filled with lies, and she was tired of it. Clint's face darkened when he realized that she was actually going to answer legitimately.

"I'm-" Natasha took a sharp breath. _Come on, they're your team, they need to know your triggers._ "-to put it simply, afraid of fire." Natasha said, her poker face never wavering. This was an intense blow to her pride, admitting that.

There was a brief second of silence, and Clint closed his eyes. Great. Great great great. _They aren't going to _understand_, Tasha! _

The others were very shocked that Natasha, who had seemed so very unbreakable, untouchable, had a fear. Tony, however, was the first to recover. "What's the not simple version?" Tony asked.

Natasha didn't have to answer. She'd already fulfilled the dare. However, she knew that this was something that could effect her in the field, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she caused someone better, in her mind, to be hurt. So she did.

"I assume you were all listening in when I interrogated Loki?" Natasha said, and her tone sounded businesslike. Clint winced. _Dear God, she is really telling them. _

She was met by several sheepish nods. They weren't really supposed to be listening in, but they had. "Okay, he mentioned 'Sao Paulo. The hospital fire...'" They nodded again. Natasha discreetly took a breath. "My parents were killed in a hospital fire, and two years later, there was another fire that killed almost one hundred people." Natasha continued. The ominous atmosphere in the room increased by tenfold. "And I was the cause of them both."

_She.  
_

_Killed. _

_Her._

_Parents._

_..._

_and over a hundred other innocents. _

"_Why?_" One of the Avengers, Natasha didn't even care who, asked.

"Because it was my assignment. Long story-I didn't always work for SHIELD." Natasha said, managing to keep her voice from quivering as she tried to rationalize. "And the only reason that you need to know this is because... I suppose you'd call it PTSD. Sometimes I just zone out... and fire is the trigger." One of them, at least.

Tony looked visibly shaken for a moment. He was going through the same thing. PTSD? He had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? _She _had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Now that he thought about it, they all probably had some form of it...

Tony now looked at Natasha a little more like a human and a little less like a terrifying murderer living in his tower.

* * *

_**So? Good? Horrible? **_

_**Hey, I saw online the other day that Pop-Tarts are, like, nonexistent in Europe. IS THAT TRUE? IS THAT TRUE, YOU POOR EUROPEANS? Also, the internet said you don't have Hershey's, Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, Marshmallow Fluff, or S'mores. **_

_**IS. THAT. TRUE?**_

_**-JoMiSm**_


End file.
